supporting the journey

Cona Vacation Getaways is a small, family-run boutique accommodation provider and vacation rental management company. Why book with us? Each property means something to us along our personal journey. We want to help you find a pillow to rest your head on at night so you can enjoy the adventures we enjoy every day. We live it. We love it.

the cona hostel - courtenay

It all began with an eco-tourism degree and a dream to meet fellow travelers who we could share our beloved Vancouver Island with – and so The Cona Hostel was born.

MT. WASHINGTON Vacation Rentals

About Us

CONA VACATION GETAWAYS

Aptly named with StrathCONA Park in our backyard, Cona Vacation Getaways didn’t start as a vacation rental management company but as a simple backpacker’s hostel. The Cona Hostel in downtown Courtenay officially opened its doors in the summer of 2008 after its first ski season operating as staff accommodation for Mount Washington employees.

Karla and Brian, avid travelers and outdoor enthusiasts, were looking to find a way to return to Brian’s roots on Vancouver Island. With Brian’s degree in Eco-tourism and Outdoor Leadership and Karla’s background with real estate ventures and zest for renovating, the seed of a hostel was planted. Both ski instructors, they chose the Comox Valley and moved with no jobs and only one plan - to make it their forever home.

Hence, “Supporting the Journey” has two meanings for them – Cona provided a means to a lifestyle journey for Brian and Karla and in doing so, they passionately support the journeys of other travellers from all over the world.

The Cona Hostel quickly expanded to include Chateau Cona in 2010, a slopeside ski chalet at Mount Washington. Again, Chateau Cona was a means to enhance their own passion for skiing and provide a certain lifestyle (read: journey) for their family which, by this time, had grown by one. Zander spent the first months of his life being towed around the cross country ski trails of Mount Washington in his pulk and even rode the chairlift in his Baby Bjorn before things got strict. He was only 18 months old the first time he “toddled” around in his own skis. With an owner’s suite in the basement of Chateau Cona, they could enjoy the snow and avoid the commute!

Jordan Eve came along in 2012 – the biggest go-getter in the family! She might have tried skiing before walking if her parents had thought to let her have a go. She certainly tried climbing (an armoire, that is), so life got quite busy for a while and growth of the “Cona Empire” slowed down a bit.

With the infrastructure already in place, they began offering reservation management and “a la carte” services to other vacation rental owners in 2016. True to brand and their love of StrathCONA Park, any property with “Cona” in the name is owned by Karla and Brian. Since moving to the Comox Valley in the fall of ‘06, they are now quite settled in – suffice it to say… the “forever home” is real. They are here to stay… that is, when they aren’t off adventuring ;) !

Why Book with Cona Vacation Getaways?

Think of Cona Vacation Getaways as a boutique rental management company. It is a small family-run business where our few but varied offerings fit so perfectly with our lifestyle…and by choice. Whether we own the vacation rental or not, it will mean something to us personally because of where it is and what experiences it has to offer. We aren’t a call centre in a remote location with trained knowledge. If you want to learn about the property highlights that matter to a skier, then you should book with a skier, right? We just want to help you find a pillow to rest your head on at night so you can enjoy the adventures we have been. We live it. We love it.